My first stop of the day was not with a fuel cell company but with WEH, a German manufacturer of (amongst other things) hydrogen dispensing equipment. As has been mentioned in the reports on the previous two days at the FC Expo, one of the notable features of the exhibition hall is the great breadth of products on display, and hydrogen infrastructure assets are well represented. WEH in particular has a long history in involvement in the fuel cell industry. They provided all of the nozzles, receptacles (the hydrogen intake valves attached to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles), filters, breakaway devices and hoses used in the European Commissions CUTE project. They have also been responsible for the development of the SAEJ 2600 standard, which has become the industry norm for 250bar and 350bar pressures. Refuelling time for an 80 litre hydrogen tank (providing around 200-300km range) is just 4 minutes, around half the time to fill an equivalent gasoline car. WEH tell me they are well aware of the importance of their equipment in the user profile of fuel cell vehicles. As their equipment would be used to manually transfer hydrogen fuel into their cars tank, an operation which many members of the public currently regard as somehow dangerous, they have strived to make the procedure as similar as possible to the experience motorists have today in order to ease public acceptance. Whereas the nozzles used to refuel hydrogen cars in the past resembled the heavy, two-handed rigs used in Formula One motor sport, WEH have built a series of nozzles and hand grips which are indistinguishable from those found at the petrol station today. WEH say theirs is a fast growing business, and they have sold around 800 nozzles and 3000 receptacles around the world, with China now becoming one of their largest markets.
Next up was Antig of Taiwan, a small but dynamic energy solution provider established in 2003 by US venture capital which targets the portable applications market. Based on a DMFC design, Antig say their business approach is characterised by constantly striving to develop solutions with mass markets in mind everything they do is geared towards products which can be manufactured relatively cheaply and in quantity. They also have an innovative approach to breaching these markets; being a solutions provider, they dont own manufacturing plant, but they work with partners who do (mainly Asia Vital Components Co., Nan Ya PCB, and Syspotek). Antig currently license two main products, the SAOS II (System Architecture Open Structure) and the BEGINI. The SOAS II is essentially a design platform with interchangeable DMFC components (main body, Balance of Plant, Energy Management System, and cartridge). The purpose of the SOAS II is almost philanthropic in nature, in that it is intended to allow users to test the parameters of the system and understand how they work so that they can strengthen their position in the fuel cell supply chain. One of the words which came across repeatedly in my talk with Antig was transparency, and with the SOAS II it is clear that they are serious about it. The other product, the BEGINI, is a multi-function 16W charger built along the lines of a PCB rather than on the more traditional graphite base. It is intended as a reference design to demonstrate what Antig solutions can provide, and the main advantage of the PCB-based platform is that the PCB manufacturing process is mature and existing production lines can be utilised (hence the tie-up with Nan Ya PCB Corporation). Like many fuel cell companies Antigs business model is aimed solely at business-to-business, though they are looking to partner with companies who can make the step towards business-to-customer. I found Antig a highly focussed and enthusiastic company with an innovative business model which has selected the merits of openness over those of secrecy when it comes to technology design. This is possibly risky, but it is certainly eye-catching.
Next I attended one of the afternoons 3 conference tracks, entitled The Cutting Edge of SOFC Development (billed like that, how could anyone resist?). Mr Kei Hosoi of the Mitsubishi Materials Group presented his organisations work on intermediate temperature (600-800 degrees celcius) SOFCs. Mitsubishis given reasoning for developing intermediate temperature fuel cells is that designs operating in this region have the twin benefits of being able to incorporate internal reforming (usually associated with high temperature designs) as well as being able to use relatively inexpensive stainless steel as the main construction material (usually associated with lower temperature SOFC designs). Mitsubishi has developed a 10 kW kerosene-fuelled system, and are currently in the process of developing another 10kW system which will be fuelled by town gas, both fuels which are commonplace in Japan. Another notable feature of Mitsubishis designs is their Internal Manifold Seal-less stack, which uses flexible metal separators with clamps to prevent leakage. Despite the absence of conventional high-temperature sealants, testing results have shown homogeneous heat distribution and cell degradation in the region of just 0.38-0.41% over 5000 hours with no cell cracking or fracture. Looking to the future, Mitsubishi intend to develop larger units, up to 100kW in size, with intended markets listed as commercial stores, fast food restaurants, small commercial buildings and (bizarrely) fitness clubs.
After the conference track I visited the stand of the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (JHFC) Demonstration Project. The Project is the second largest of its kind in the world, and it operates a fleet of some 60 fuel cell vehicles provided by 8 major domestic and foreign automotive manufacturers. It is supported by a hydrogen infrastructure consisting of 11 refuelling stations, with one new one being opened in Osaka next month. The Project, funded by METI, began in 2002 and is intended to run until 2010. At the present time, there are no plans to expand the fleet upwards from 60, and the present practice of continual replacement of older fuel cell vehicle models with newer ones (instead of merely adding them) will continue.
The last port of call was with Finnish SOFC developer Wärtsillä Corporation. Wärtsillä is a major marine and energy company which has been involved with SOFC development in one form or another since 2000. The companys main product is the WFC20, developed with partners Topsoe, which has a nominal power of 20kWe and is aimed at both stationary and marine CHP applications (in marine applications, the focus will be on providing for auxiliary functions rather than propulsion). Because of the dual nature of the WFC20s intended markets, fuel flexibility is a key concern and the WFC20 can run off either natural gas (for stationary generation) or liquid methanol (well-suited for marine environments). Test results for the WFC20 have been encouraging, with units operating continuously for 40,000 hours and showing highly stable output with very low voltage degradation. In a further achievement, the electrical power generated from the WFC20 trials was put directly on to Finlands national grid system no mean feat in its own right. Wärtsillä have begun to develop a 50kWe system which will be trialled in 2008-2009. It was made clear to me that Wärtsillä Corporation is committed to fuel cell development for the long run it is viewed as an extension of the companys historical commitment to investing in the development of leading edge technologies. And with the significant (financial) backing that a major industrial organisation can provide, Wärtsillä looks set to become a major player in the fuel cell industry internationally.
And with that the FC Expo 2007 came to its conclusion. Listing general observations:
1. Perhaps paramount is the fact that this is the largest fuel cell conference in the calendar, and by some considerable margin. The event was billed as having an expected 24,000 visitors. I do not know if this was achieved, but on some occasions the exhibition hall was so busy I was reduced to (politely) shoving my way through the throng in order to get around. There were over 500 exhibitors, and I am told that exhibition slots for FC Expo 2008 are selling out fast.
2. The breadth of the range of fuel cell applications on offer was marked, with everything from fuel cell inspection and testing technologies, through to components, complete systems, demonstration projects, and industry media.
3. One notable absence from the exhibition hall was high temperature stationary systems. Although of all fuel cell sectors this is probably Japans weakest, I did not see any foreign large stationary fuel cell manufacturers exhibiting either.
4. The exhibitors were predominantly from Japan, with maybe 20 or 30 per cent from overseas. This is perhaps an indication of the current strength and vitality of the Japanese fuel cell scene, and perhaps also that non-Japanese actors might therefore benefit from increasing their exposure at events such as this.
5. From the presentations at the various conference tracks, it is apparent from the number of times that it was cited as a key benefit of the technologies under discussion that CO2 emission limitation is seen as a major driver for fuel cell technologies. CO2 emissions savings was a quoted vector in company product presentations almost without exception, and this is not the case at trade fares in all countries.
6. There is still relatively little business-to-customer products on the market compared to business-to-business products, especially in the portable applications sector. I had hoped to find a working, attachable fuel cell laptop charger, but I left disappointed.
7. The Japanese public at large seem interested in the technology. There were a number of non-industry member of the public viewing the exhibits. I also noticed fuel cell manufacturers advertising on the Tokyo metro.
8. The Japanese have raised the art of exhibiting at trade shows to hitherto unreached levels. Based on the presentation and effort put in to their stands, Japanese companies clearly take the FC Expo very seriously and have come up with spectacular ways of getting their message across (with the possible exception of that darts game I never did find out what that was for).